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Times Sq. suspect's flight minutes from takeoff

The flight carrying the suspect in the Times Square bombing attempt was minutes from takeoff Monday night when Customs officials stopped it so the passenger could be removed, according to federal officials.

However, earlier reports that it was nearing the runway with Shahzad aboard are incorrect, the officials said.

In fact, the flight, Emirates No. 202, was stopped twice. The first time was just after the door was closed and the jetway was pulled back. That's when Shahzad was removed.

Later, as an air traffic controller was telling the crew to assume the takeoff position on JFK Airport's runway 22-right, she paused and abruptly told the plane to return to the gate "immediately," according to audio of the exchange posted on the web. However, this was a precuationary step after officials decided they wanted to take another look at the plane and the passengers, officials said.

"Emirates 202 heavy, runway 22 right position....actually I have a message for you to go back to the gate immediately," the controller said. "I don't know exactly why but you can call your company for the reason."

ABC reported some of this this morning, saying the suspect "almost got away." Perhaps, but the flight could have been returned to JFK or another US airport even if the message arrived shortly after takeoff.

Below is the video, really audio (presumably it was dark at midnight), taken from LiveATC.net, a website that webcasts aviation radio frequencies.

UPDATE: The above post has been updated to reflect officials saying the stop as the plane headed out on the runway came after Shahzad had been removed. MSNBC seems to have been the first to point out the misunderstanding.